Blackburn Buccaneer

History of the Blackburn Pirates

The Blackburn Corsair is a low-speed, high-speed carrier-based attack aircraft used by the RAF and its Royal Navy (South Africa proved to be the only foreign operator of this type). Designed to Royal Navy requirements, the Buccaneer features two crew members sitting side by side, an internal gun bay to supplement external storage, and a vertically split tail cone as a large-area air brake.

The Buccaneer prototype first flew on April 30, 1958, and became the leader of a total of 20 pre-production "NA-39s".

Beginning in 1962, 40 first production-quality Corsairs - designated "S. Mk 1" - were equipped with de Havilland Gyron Junior 7,100 lb thrust turbojets, followed by the upcoming "S. Mk 1" .Mk 2 "80 examples of performance problems" mark the Rolls-Royce Spey Mk 101 turbofan engine with a standard thrust of 11,200 pounds. Blackburn Aircraft was responsible for producing the first 10 aircraft of this type, then Manufactured under the Hawke Siddeley Air brand label.

Future innovations include the use of Rocket Assisted Takeoff (ROTA) for carrier operations, using the 8,000 lb thrust Bristol Siddeley Stentor rocket engine.

The overall design of the Buccaneer is centered on a tubular fuselage with a pointed cone and a tapered tail. Wings are monoplane assemblies mounted high on the sides of the fuselage. The fuselage consists of two circular engine nacelles with air intakes at the front and exhaust rings at the rear. The tail is covered by a T-tail assembly on the vertical tail. The framed cockpit is well designed and provides a good view of what's ahead.

The chassis is a traditional tricycle arrangement. Aerial refueling probes extend the operating range.

The performance of the final S. Mk 2 model includes a top speed of 667 mph, a range of 2,300 miles and a service cap of 40,000 feet. When empty, the aircraft weighs 30,000 pounds and can take off with a 62,000-pound load.

It measures 63 feet 5 inches in length, with a wingspan of 44 feet and a height of 16 feet 3 inches.

As a dedicated combat platform, the Corsair is authorized to carry a large number of air-to-surface weapons, including conventional bombs, anti-fortification missiles, anti-ship missiles and unguided missile pods. The internal weapons bays are quite large for this type of aircraft, so more frequent use of external fuel bays is required to help maintain an acceptable operational range.

The modernization program undoubtedly helped extend the lifespan of aircraft in the 1950s.

With the growing interest in smaller aircraft carriers in the future Royal Navy, the larger HMS Corsair is somewhat skeptical as a future facility. Beginning in 1969, when the S. Mk 2 production variant was incorporated into a land-based attack platform as the "S. Mk 2A" (RAF, now without the cancelled TSR-2 bomber program), the Royal Navy's Buccaneer stockpile was allocated to The Royal Air Force, lacking a suitable replacement for its now-defunct British electric Canberra fleet). The RAF "S.Mk 2B" variant implements support for Martel anti-radar/anti-ship missiles, and 46 of this type exist.

The existing Royal Navy S.2 was subsequently upgraded to the S.Mk 2A standard under the designation "S.Mk 2C". Likewise, the Royal Navy S. Mk 2 that met the S. Mk 2B standard (with Martel missile support) was designated "S. Mk 2D".

At least 16 Corsairs were delivered to the South African Air Force under the S. Mk 50 designation, forming the 24th Squadron of the South African Air Force.

During the 1991 Gulf War, at least 12 privateers were shipped to the Persian Gulf. These are equipped with laser designators, allowing precision strikes with laser-guided bombs.

The platform provided high-altitude bombardment for itself and other coalition aircraft (SEPECAT Jaguars and Panavia Tornados), and eventually carried out 218 sorties in the conflict. The aircraft was officially withdrawn from service in February 1991, and the last British Corsair was retired in 1994.

South Africa has operated pirates since 1965, which are mainly used as anti-ship platforms, but also for ground attack when needed. So they can be equipped with rockets, rocket pods and drop bombs depending on the situation.

The aircraft served and were successfully used in the border war, and the official use of the pirates by the South African Air Force was finally abandoned in 1991.

Specification

Basic

Production

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes